"So we're going to take another mission?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi gave a wry smile behind the mask. "Yeah. The Hokage will tell you all more." He waved to the chunin attendant. "Greetings."
The attendant bowed. "What do you need, Hatake?"
"I'd like to request a mission right now." The chunin nodded.
"Very well then. There's one other team in the office right now. You are granted entry."
The four came across Team 10, all standing before the stacks of paper and sprawl of scrolls that littered the Hokage's desk.
"Ah, Team Seven. I think that I have a dual mission for your teams to complete."
Kakashi bowed. "What is it, Lord Hokage?"
The Hokage puffed out a cloud of smoke. "This is an A-rank mission. Your job is to apprehend a rogue ninja in the Land of Hot Water. From reports, they seem dead-set on the Hidden Steam Village. They are reported to be highly dangerous, so don't hesitate to kill them."
"You have to evacuate any potential civilians or injured and capture the rogue ninja." Asuma smiled.
"Well then father, you've picked the right teams. We specialise in detaining enemies. And Kakashi's team is all about offence."
Sayuri stepped up. "Permission to speak, Lord Hokage?"
"Granted." He nodded.
"Why not pick a more suitable squad for this mission?"
"We send as many ninja as possible on missions to generate revenue for the village, so we're constantly short-staffed. The exceptions are public events like the Chunin Selection Exams." He turned to Asuma."Then you'll accept? These are your genin, and if they die, there will be some very heavy punishments."
Asuma crossed his arms. "I'll protect them with my life."
"I'll take that as a yes. Kakashi, I trust that you'll see this mission to its conclusion."
"Of course."
The eight left the office and Kakashi began speaking."We're going full speed to the Hidden Steam village and we'll depart in twenty minutes. If you don't come, we're not waiting for you. Get ready."
They all scattered in various-sized groups, Sayuri touching down on a rooftop alongside her teammates.
"You think this'll go well?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah. This isn't a very hard mission. Just detain one person. Should be simple," Naruto explained.
"It's so simple, but the client is paying a lot of money. It's one of our allies too. The Land of Hot Water."
"True. It's weird. We'll figure it out later though."
She grabbed a whetstone and began to drag her blade across the rough surface. The screech of the metal always brought comfort to her, even if others called the sound annoying.
The grating was progress.
Taiko, her now deceased sensei, had said during her first session that the sword was reflective of a person's character; a sharpened blade led to a honed mind; a dull blade, a negligent, uncaring person.
Sayuri packed reels of wire, sealed some extra weaponry and slid her blade back into the scabbard. Time to go.
The eight met up at the gates into Konoha. "Ready?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
"This is going to be so troublesome. Fine, let's get this over with."
Choji tossed a chip in his mouth.
They all ran through the treetops, the wind whistling in their ears.
"So who are we dealing with?" Naruto asked.
Asuma puffed out a cloud of smoke from his cigarette. "No clue. All we know is that he's very bloodthirsty. We have to get there as soon as possible."
"The trip is about a day long. We'll get there tomorrow."
Ino breathed heavily. "This is exhausting," she moaned. "I'm so tired."
Kakashi looked at the sun. "We can take a short break. Fifteen minutes, and we go back to running."
Ino took a canteen and nearly drained it of its contents. Choji grabbed his trusty bag of chips and wolfed all the potato crisps down.
Naruto and Shikamaru were talking.
"I'm surprised that you didn't ditch halfway through. Not your type of day, y'know."
"If we finish this mission fast enough, it won't be a complete drag."
"That's fair."
Kakashi checked his watch. "Naruto, are there any targets around us?"
Naruto closed his eyes with his hand against the tree. "Nobody else is around for a kilometer."
"Alright then, let's continue then."
And they kept running.
"What a person, to have an entire village call upon our aide for defence," Sayuri commented. "I get the feeling that this won't be easy."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "We never get the easy missions anyway."
"That's true, as much as I don't like it."
"Yeah."
"Keep moving," Asuma interjected. "Remember, we're on a mission. Save the complaints for later."
And they kept running.
"The moon's about to rise; we should set up camp for now," Sasuke noted.
Sasuke set off a small fire jutsu to ignite a pile of kindling.
The fire crackled as Asuma slung the bag off his back. He unfolded a tent and a sleeping bag. Ino, and Choji followed suit, performing the same actions as their senior.
Shikamaru just sat against a nearby tree and fell asleep.
As Sayuri curled into her sleeping bag, she wondered what the next day would bring.
—
Sayuri crawled out from her sleeping bag and yawned.
Sayuri glanced around, eyes half-closed.
Naruto yawned next to her. "Morning," he greeted.
"Morning," she yawned out.
Asuma strolled out from his tent. "We need to get going. Pack up and get ready."
Sayuri sealed the whole tent and the sleeping bags inside. She was not awake enough to dismantle the tent.
Ino grumbled her way out of her tent.
The sound of Choji crunching chips was clear. Shikamaru blinked once, and then groaned.
They had just finished packing when Kakashi smiled at the group of groaning genin.
"Let's get there."
—
"We're getting close to the village," Kakashi began. "Our target must be arriving soon, if they aren't already here."
"Get ready for combat."
They stopped at the gates. They were cracked, the giant sign split in two. The guard was slain, three gashes in his abdomen.
Craters and cracks littered the floor and walls, probably chakra-enhanced jumps.
Buildings had massive, splintered lines run across them.
Bloody circles with triangles inside littered the floor. Near these circles were corpses, all of them clutching body parts with no visible injuries.
Of course, there were still dozens of bodies with very visible wounds. Choji looked like he was going to vomit.
The blood pooled around their feet.
"We're late," Kakashi muttered. She and Naruto drew their blades. Sasuke had unclipped the bow off his back.
They ran across the village, hopping from roof to roof, until they came to the village's center.
The sound of something slamming into the ground reached Sayuri's ears.
He had silver-grey hair, a black leather jacket and black pants.
He wore the headband with the insignia of the Hidden Steam village.
And his weapon? A triple bladed, blood-red scythe.
He dragged that unwieldy beast of a blade across a man's body lengthwise, blood spraying over his body. He tossed the body away. "Jashin is satisfied."
He then caught sight of them. "HAHAHA!" He laughed and brandished his scythe. "So you eight have come to be sacrificed by me? Excellent!"
He grinned, his eyes glinted red with bloodlust. "Let's finish this procession then, shall we?"
----
A new arc begins!
So what do you all want to see? Fights, scenes, so on.
Remember to review! It makes me happy when you do!
Goodnight,
and Hello There!